Tranquility
by Metamorcy
Summary: AU Life was the same to Leon that was until a certain blond-haired man came in and changed all that. Cleon CloudXLeon


**Title:** Tranquility

**By**: Metamorcy

**Rating**: T

**Pairing**: Cloud/Leon

**Disclaimer**: Don't own, don't sue so why bother

**Summary**: AU Everything was the same to Leon, everything continued the same, business, people, that was until a blond-haired man came in during a rainy day and changed all that. And not only that, he was also appearing at his work too! Cleon

**N/A**: My second one. I think I love this one. I don't know why. And this one is super long. So long…

* * *

"_It's been a long time since we first meet."_

"_Yeah, about four years and eight months."_

"…_You always know the exact date…" _

"_Ahaha…No, I just look at a calendar."_

"_You haven't changed much since then either."_

"_No…I have…I've changed a lot…ever since meeting you."_

"_Leon…"_

* * *

A light sound of thunder roared through the gray clouds that surrounded the town. No rain could be heard tapping against the cement and the people in the streets were either hiding or going around with some sort of protection such as umbrellas or raincoats.

Leon did neither.

He was outside, staring at anything that passed his line of vision with his dark gray eyes, both hands in his leather pant pockets. His brown locks swished side to side at each step and would rustle whenever the wind decided to blow. His head was held up high, his posture straight, and there was a frown, looking more permanent than not, on his rosy lips. He never liked being inside his house whenever the weather was like this. It made him feel so crowded at the closed space and as well hard to breathe when he was alone. And as he went outside to meet the climate, he always refused to have any shield with him. He didn't need it even when he did.

The sound of thunder roared through the town, louder this time, rattling windows with its force. He heard the faint cry of dogs that howled to it, even barked, and there were car alarms set off from it. His eyes spotted the lightning that flashed across the sky, that bright white that seemed to turn the sky clear, if just for a second. He watched it carefully as if memorized before continuing down the pathway he was walking on.

Leon hated the sun, not because of the heat, warmth, and light it gave but the happiness it brought. People were always content when the sun was out and there were more of them outside during that time, crowding the streets and stores with their ridiculous numbers. He disliked it when he had to push and shove his way through the mass, even worse when it was a store sale. It was like fighting for his life each time.

But this attitude is probably what made people stay away from him. No one wanted to get near the brunet that was giving off a dangerous aura. Even his previous girlfriend had left when she had enough of his short answers and unbearable long silence. He still had friends though, not many, but he had enough.

"Sir?" A small voice spoke behind him, startling him for a second. He forced every nerve in his body to not jump and turn around with an air of calm.

He went to face the speaker only finding out that it was an old woman who looked like she was nearing the end of her years. The woman jumped at the sight of the brunet, who had a defined scar across his face that ran from the left side of his forehead to right, just below his right eye. Leon noticed the look and gave a curt reply to snap her out of her daze. "Yes?"

The woman smiled softly and pushed the umbrella she was holding up higher. It went over Leon's head. "Would you like to use my umbrella, sonny? It looks like its going to rain soon. Wouldn't want you to get sick."

The brunet instantly shook his head. "Thank you for the offer but I'll have to say no. Plus, you look like you need it more than I do." He started walking again, leaving the woman behind and didn't bother in looking back. The person looked shock at the blunt response but then smiled. He turned the next corner so that the woman wouldn't be able to see him anymore and sighed, still continuing down the route onto the main street. People always had a tendency to come and talk to him.

Whenever cars would zoom pass him, he would get hit in the face with air from the exhaustion pipes but today, there was hardly anyone out. Not only was it in the afternoon of a weekday, when most people are working, but it was a Friday, surely there would be a couple walking around enjoying themselves. No matter, he liked it when it was like this.

'It's so peaceful…if only everyday was like this.' Leon thought as he passed windows that sold clothes and accessories inside. His eyes peeked in but there was nothing that caught his attention. He was well off and got everything he needed but he still liked to go browsing, he never knew what he might find within those departments and side stores.

Leon glanced up at the sky, watching the gray clouds move slowly before staring down at the ground once more. He didn't feel the need to do anything else but walk. His wallet was in his back pocket, deep in so it wouldn't fall out, but there wasn't much in there except for a few bills and his cards. As he turned the corner, his eyes caught something blond in the distance. He blinked momentarily, confused and quickly identified the thing. It was a person with spiky blond hair and the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen. The man was dressed in black with a tight tank top and pants with some kind of side cape going on. Leon didn't think much of it but he couldn't help but stare at the figure in awe.

The man was just so….

_Beautiful_…

Leon paused at that thought. 'I did _not_ just think that!' He placed a finger at the bridge of his nose and squeezed. His eyebrows tilted, giving him an irritating look, and with his eyes closed for a moment, his movement stopped as his mind was trying to understand what was going on with him.

Suddenly, he felt a drop hit his shoulder. His eyes snapped open and glanced to the side where it had touched. It was wet…and cold. Another drop hit him soon after and he sighed. Guess he had better make it back to his house for a nice warm shower. As he took a step forward, the sprinkling hardened and he grumbled, making his way back. He shivered slightly at the coldness of the air and began moving faster, but the rain was getting stronger. Soon his mind was only thinking of what was in front of him and the beautiful man from behind had left his thoughts. He just wanted to get someplace warm.

Deciding at the last moment to enter a restaurant, he found out that the place was pack to the brim. His gray eyes glanced over the room and felt the heat hit his face from the air condition. His skin got goose-bumps at the mixture of temperatures, and hastily told the lady that there was only one in his party. He was lead to a table, a two seater, and sat down to face the window which was fogging up. Outside it was pouring like crazy and the streets that had people in it had been emptied out. They were running around towards their cars and some had newspapers on top of the heads. Many of them came consecutively into the restaurant, mostly seeking protection from the weather. He didn't bother looking up at any of them since they didn't concern him at all and even as they moved around him, his eyes were still glued to the glass.

"Excuse me." A soft yet strong voice called out, interrupting Leon's concentration at the rain. At first, he thought that it might be the waiter but when he turned, he blinked in confusion. He was gazing at the blonde from before and he had to admit, the guy _was_ quite handsome for a man.

Leon kept his cool. "Can I help you?"

"Ah, yes. I was wondering if anyone was going to take this seat." The blond tapped the empty chair with a hopeful look on his face.

The brunet swiftly glanced behind the blond and looked at the entrance. A person, who looked like the manager of the place, was trying to get others that were waiting, and who were overcrowding the entrance, to leave but some didn't listen and as a resort, people were starting to get kicked out. Leon glanced back at the man then around the room, there wasn't a single place left that was opened. Well, what was the harm of being a little helpful? He sighed and waved. "Go ahead."

The blond nodded. "Thank you." He looked at the menu then back up. "I'm Cloud Stife, by the way."

"Leon…Leonheart."

"Seems you also got stuck in the rain." Cloud had a blank expression but he nodded, noticing the dark spots on Leon's shoulders and a few of the brown bangs darker than the normal color.

"Yeah, that's right."

The blond didn't say anything else and continued to look over the menu. A waiter came by, wanting to take their order and this was when he finally realized what type of store he had jumped into. It was a sandwich and soup shop, but not one of those where he had to go to the counter to order. He blinked and glanced over the items. He decided to stick with his usual type but didn't want the same drink like soft drink or his usual coffee, he was cold and wanted something warm.

Cloud ordered first, seeing as Leon hadn't answered the man. "I'll have the club sandwich and a diet coke."

The waiter nodded and turned to Leon. "And you?"

"Tuna sandwich with hot chocolate." He closed the menu and handed it over to the waiter. The man nodded again and headed off to get the drinks.

Cloud glanced over with a curious face. "Hot chocolate? You don't really seem the type to drink such a thing."

"I'm not. But I'm making the exception today since its cold. I've had enough of coffee. I had like eight cups this morning."

"I see, that makes sense."

The noise in the building grew, it was loud enough to override the rain outside and the dinging of the bell that rang when someone entered. Leon went back to staring at the rain, hoping it would stop sooner or later. On the other hand, Cloud was glancing around the room in boredom but nothing seemed to catch his attention and turned back to Leon, hoping the man would speak, however, that didn't seem to be happening anytime soon. The noise around them grew higher and it made it appear that people were screaming from the tones of their voices. Cloud winced at it and sighed, his blue eyes watching the other and had a strong feeling that he was never going to speak first. He gave in from silence between them.

"So…" Cloud started, catching the man's attention. Leon twisted to him with a curious look. "What do you do for a living?"

"I work." The brunet gave a blunt responded, not really answering anything.

Cloud twitched. "Oh really? Doing what?"

"Nothing much."

Cloud twitched again. "Are you ever going to say what?"

"No."

The blond could only sign in defeat. "Fine then, I'll start. I work as an assistant."

"That's nice. For what company?"

Cloud wiggled his nose at that response. Apparently the other wanted to know more about him then the other way around. "Xclaim."

For a moment, Leon looked surprised then his face went back to normal. "I know that company."

"Really? How do you know it?" The other looked slightly happy that the brunet was actually talking.

"I know someone else that works there…" He paused for a moment. "Squall, I believe his name is."

Cloud closed his eyes, trying to remember if he knew anyone there by that name, but no one came into mind. He tried harder and attempted to see if he might recognize it and he did. He knew he had heard about the person from long ago, when he first came to his job, but it had disappeared from his mind. Cloud shook his head, his spiky blond bangs bouncing at the movement. "No, I'm afraid I don't."

"That's odd…That's usually the first name people learn in the company, oh well. Do you know who you work under?"

"Ah, Zack. The oil division. The one that's right next to Serpthoth's. That's a high position in that department. Strange though, never liked taking in assistants, he must have really liked you." Leon let his lips rise up slightly to make a smile and glanced away as the waiter came by, placing their food on the table. He went and took a sip of his hot chocolate, feeling the warmth fill his cold body and then smacked his lips quietly in satisfaction. It wasn't bad, a little too rich for his taste, but it was good enough, and then he proceeded to bite into his sandwich.

Cloud blinked at the respond Leon had made about his company and couldn't help but wonder how this Leon fellow knows so much. He was about to question it when he decided to just eat his food and do it later. The two men ate silently while the surroundings got a little wilder. People had stopped coming in after giving up and went to another place to pester, but that didn't help the situation.

Leon finished quickly and just in time as the rain started to slow down. He glanced over to Cloud, who had only half of his food done, and gazed towards the window to check the weather. His fingers were wrapped around the handle of his cup and slowly sipped it then pulled back. The mug went down onto the table with a sharp click and grabbed a napkin to wipe his lips. "Well now, I better get going. It was nice meeting you, Cloud." Leon reached into his pocket and placed a few bills on the table, enough to cover himself, Cloud, and the tip. "Here, my treat." Leon left before the other could say anything else, sauntering out the door and went around the corner.

His dark gray eyes glanced over the restaurant one last time, finding the blond inside confused and shocked. He chuckled at the expression, watching the other man a little longer before heading away and down the wet streets. His feet would splash into the remaining puddles and the cement had turned a dark color. People were coming out of hiding and were walking around with no problem since the shower had passed. Leon just stuffed his hands into his pockets and went on.

* * *

"_You know, the first time I saw you, I thought you were some kind of antisocial jerk."_

"…"

"_I said _when_ I first saw you."_

"_That still doesn't make things any better for you."_

"_Whaaat?! Oh, come on!"_

* * *

"Squall!" A voice called into the room after opening the doors, _not_ so gently. A female jumped into the room, bouncing around with a happy expression. She ran to the front of the desk that was centered in the middle at the far back and went around it, tapping the man that was sitting in the seat. He had his head deeply buried into his laptop with the light of the sun on half of his face, because of the reflection of the large glass windows that he usually kept closed.

The man glanced up with his dark gray eyes and sighed, shutting them tight in irritation. He placed a hand on the bridge of his nose and squeezed. "Yuffie, how many times have I told you not to enter like that?"

The female just smiled. "Too many to count but you know I don't listen."

"I know but I can't help but try." The man leaned back into his comfy chair and groaned. He looked up when the door knocked and opened, something that Yuffie never did whenever she came in. A dark man with long black hair that had a red headband wrapped around his forehead, keeping the long bangs out of his eyes, came in. His clothes were all black except for the single red coat that hung over his body that had ripped ends(1), which seemed to flutter to any movement. His sharp red eyes turned to Squall but he didn't say anything. The brunt stood up and wandered around his desk, letting his right gloved hand slid across the finishing of his wooden desk. "Is there something wrong? You don't usually come in here unless needed or to get her-" He pointed to Yuffie. "-out of here."

"No, there's a person here to see you. He says it's very important and needs your attention immediately." The dark-clocked man replied, stepping forward but remained close to the door. One of his hands was encased in metal and strangely, Squall never got around in asking why but he had a feeling that he didn't _want_ to know. Plus, he felt in no need in prying. He kept his secrets quiet and so did Vincent even after all the years they had been together in this working environment. The two that were his assistants were his most trustworthy people and allies and he was sure that they would always get the materials done and on-time (though Yuffie likes to procrastinate or make excuses on it). "Would you like me to send him away?"

Yuffie puffed and jumped in front of Squall before he could give an answer to the other man. She was waving a finger and crawled onto the top of his desk. "Leon! Don't ignore me!"

Squall snapped. "Don't call me that name while we're working!"

"You know, I still don't understand why you hide your face and put out your real name and use a fake one in the open." Yuffie grumbled, putting her hands on her waist. "It doesn't make any sense. After all, sooner or later, it's going to be revealed that Squall Leonheart, the famous CEO of Xclaim, is actually Leon, whose been walking around like the average man. Or visa versa."

Leon, or Squall, sighed while nodding to Vincent so he could bring in the person. "Because I don't want to get attacked by the journalists, reporters and by the public. I like being alone. Just how Vincent does and you know that."

The brunet girl huffed and turned away, knowing she had lost in this argument. There was nothing else to say, after all, who really liked getting all that publicity. It seems nice at first but it gets tiring to handle all of those people. She had a few experiences on that when the media had tried to congratulate her in getting such a high position at the company, while at the same time, they were trying to get glimpses of the CEO's life. Reporters, in her mind, were nothing than pests. Wherever she went, she had to keep her face hidden; otherwise, it was completely impossible to go out anywhere. And once her identity was revealed, it didn't take long before the _dogs_ came sniffing her out. But that didn't mean she'll make it easy for Leon. "Fine! Do what you want!"

"I plan to."

The door opened again and this time two people came walking in. Vincent held the door open while the other person came through. Leon recognized him as Cid, the head engineer of this place. The older man had blond hair and a disgruntled expression that always seemed to be in a frown. It was worse when he worked; he seemed more of a lunatic when he got into _any_ project. There was a lit cigarette in his lips, puffing out smoke, and took a long drag of it before letting it out. Leon walked up to him and snatched the cancer stick away, smashing it into the trashcan.

"How many times do I have to tell you that this is a non-smoking workplace? You can do it outside on the roof or on the first level."

"Opps, my bad." Cid grumbled but was used to this treatment. He smirked and almost reached into his pocket for another when he caught himself. There was an icy cold glare that made him freeze up and he chuckled nervously, pulling back. "Ah well, I'll probably start back up in my office."

"I wouldn't be surprised if one day it catches on fire." Leon snarled.

"And that would be the day." Cid reached into his jacket and pulled out a folder. "For you. I've just finished the plans and just wanted to show them to you for an approval. The last time I didn't do that, we had some trouble with the funds."

"Yes, I remember that incident. I'm still trying to explain to the people why it had to be delayed for a whole mouth." Leon sighed, not liking the idea of that happening again or having low funds for any project. He took the folder and quickly glanced over the pages before placing it on the top of his stack. "Looks fine so far but I'd like to check over it. I should be able to hand it back to you tomorrow in the morning. For the time being, I want you to get things ready with the construction."

"That's fine with me, had to do it anyway. If I'm not there or too busy, just hand it over to Tidus." Cid turned to the side. "He's more likely to hand it to me right away then those other ones. It's hard to find trustworthy people these days. It's all about the money, even though it is a major thing in this city. However, I can't say I like it."

"I understand. I'll hand it over to Tidus." Leon nodded and allowed the gruff-looking man leave before pushing the folder further away. He leaned back against his desk and glanced outside to the windows from his position. It was sunny and bright and with all the lights that was reflecting off the windows of other buildings, it blinded him. He had to turn away in response, no longer wanting to look but he could see people moving around at the bottom in those huge crowds that never seemed to dissipate.

Vincent and Yuffie were about to leave Leon to his peaceful moment when he suddenly decided to head out with them. He exited the room and continued forward while his two assistants sat back down in their respectable spots. He knew them well enough not to cause any unnecessary trouble especially for Vincent, who is a childhood friend, while Yuffie, he had known ever since middle school. He knew both of them the best and visa versa.

As he opened the door to the stairs (he felt no need to get shoved and squashed into the elevator just to go down a couple floors), he went down a few staircases with ease and stepped onto a random floor. He glanced around, this was the fifteenth floor as said by the number that was printed on the wall (his office is one the 20th, which is the highest level, and there's only 2 elevators for 800 people). If he remembered correctly, this was where Zack was stationed and most likely Cloud as well.

Leon, curious, decided to visit and see if the blond really _did_ go here. Knowing that the main working area should be near the center, the brunet went around the corner and peeked into a room that was on the other side but he didn't see anything. He pushed the door open to get a better look and managed to spot the blond-haired man in a corner, guarding the door next to him with a cold glare. There were other workers in the room, all settled in their own individual desks, working happily or were looking happy. Leon's dark gray eyes watched over Cloud for a moment, whose blue ones were glowering over the papers in front of his computer. He pounded away on the keyboard, the clicking sounds filling the room. Leon snorted.

"Guess he wasn't lying."

"Who wasn't lying?" A voice called out from behind. Leon forced every nerve in his body to not jump and slowly turned around, looking as calm as ever. His eyes went over the black-haired person whose hair was in a backward spike and had a large grin across his face. It was the manager of this level, Zack. "Well, well, look who it is. Never thought I'd ever see you down here. You hardly ever come out of your office."

"I know that but I'm not here on purpose." Leon sighed, glancing away from the bright man.

"Still…coming down here, I hope you didn't bring me any bad news cuz I really don't want to hear any of it." Zack groaned. "If you did, you'd better give it to my assistant, Cloud. He'll be able to take care of it or anything for that matter. He tends to make things a whole lot better." The man waved his arms, chuckling all awhile. "He'll take things better than I can anyway, that's why I trust him with some important matters I don't tell anyone else."

"That's good but lucky for you, I don't have any of that type of news for you. I'm just on a stroll, taking a break from all the paperwork from upstairs. It's not really that shocking is it?"

"Well, out of everyone that works here, only the head leaders have seen you and maybe a handful of staff. But most people have never seen you before and there was this one time when you went into the elevator, my employees thought you were working on a different level while another thought you were some intruder and almost call security if I hadn't stopped the person. I had to keep my mouth shut on the whole matter and snicker at their responses towards you. Do you know how hard it is not to say anything? Out of my division, only _I_ know about you, that's really sad if you think about it."

Leon shook his head, his brown locks bouncing. "That's fine with me. I don't like being around people too much. It's not very fun."

Zack let his shoulders fall and pouted. It even seemed as if his hair had fallen down from its usual spike and he looked like a wet dog. "Man, you remind me of Cloud, he's so gloomy and glares at anything that moves or comes near him. Buts he's really a nice guy if you get past that attitude of his."

Leon perked up at that information. "Is that so?" He glanced towards Cloud before walking away and speaking to Zack as he left. "Well, I guess I'll see you next time."

"Alright, have a nice walk."

Leon nodded and this time went into the elevator, heading up, not feeling like taking the long route. The people inside gave him a curious look even as they got off before him and soon he was alone in the little metal encased room. He didn't care as his mind was stuck on the blond-haired man.

"Interesting…"

* * *

"_You know, I think it was love at first sight for us."_

"_Not really, more like love in my third sighting of you."_

"_You really don't have a romantic bone in your body, do you?"_

"_Sorry, you chose the wrong boyfriend for that type of stuff."_

* * *

Leon was heading out of the company building; he owned and sat down in the front area where a large fountain sat right in the center with the water firing up in numerous patterns. It was closing time and most of the people were starting to head on home to their families or whoever they lived with after finishing work for the day. He, on the other hand, had nothing else to do and decided to just wait outside to watch people pass by with smiles or frowns on their faces. A couple of people waved and nodded respectably to him and he returned it with a short gesture. There was the sound of some zooming cars that were driving away and the noise filled his hearing along with the numerous footsteps that seemed to echo, but what he heard the most was the water that crashed into the ground. Splattering and bouncing again until the next shot. It was loud enough to cover all the sounds in the world for a moment before it was driven out again. Leon remained where he was at even as he felt some of the cold water hit him (the wind's fault) and waited quietly as less people left from the building. There were fewer voices, fewer footsteps that were stomping or clanking away, less of everything except for the fountain which seemed to have gotten louder and he sighed at the peacefulness of the place. He could see some of the lights closing down, levels shutting off and he watched with interest, after all, what better things were there for him to do than this. The sun was setting in the distance in a clearing between the buildings, the sky turning multiple colors, ranging from yellow, red and blue and not forgetting all the colors in-between the mixes. There was even a hint of green as well mixed in there that was stuck between the yellow and dark blue of the sky. Leon stared at the setting colors, watching as the blue quickly overrode the others but yet, he didn't want to head on home. Inside, he would feel so dark and empty even when there was someone else there with him and he would just wait for the next day. These were the only times (when working his ass off) he had ever felt like he had a purpose. People _needed_ him and he liked that feeling even when it had a tendency to suffocate him instead.

"Guess I'll wait a little bit longer before going myself.' Leon thought as he felt the water behind him shut off.

Then there was a pair of footsteps and voices. He didn't bother turning to them, thinking it was just some late people that wanted to let the traffic pass.

"Ah, Leon! What are you still doing here?!" A female voice called out to him, startling him out of his dream, snapping his head up instantly and spotted the speaker, who was rushing towards his spot. He recognized the short brown hair and large eyes and that large wide grin that was more mischievous than a cat.

"Yuffie?" He asked, seeing the girl pop into his view. She was bouncing up and down and he was actually amazed she had remembered not to call him by his real name when outside of the building. He was glad for that, it was one of the few things he knew she would remember to do. "What are you still doing here? I thought you had run out earlier."

"Me? Oh, I went to talk to my friend cuz I knew the stiff would try and run away. He's right next to me and his name's Cloud." She grinned and stepped aside to reveal the blond man that had been on Leon's mind for the past few hours. Cloud's blue eyes widened at the sight and looked thoroughly astonished before turning to Yuffie for answers.

"You know him?" Cloud asked, watching Leon's expression hardly change at the introduction. It was like he had gone through something like this multiple times in his life. His face remained blank, however, inside of Leon's mind, he was running wild with thoughts that seemed to alternate every few seconds. He was literally _panicking_. Why? He hadn't been expecting him to show up _now_ of all times and with Yuffie, the blabber mouth.

The girl smiled innocently and nodded. She didn't have any choice but to keep quiet that her boss was right in front of her. She didn't want to get fired yet. "Yep, a friend of mine, a childhood one to be exact."

Suddenly, Cloud's relaxed and shifted into something understanding, smiling lightly to Leon. "Oh, so that means that Yuffie is the one that works here. Now I see how you know this place so well."

For a moment, the girl looked confused and turned to Leon for answers. She didn't get any as he remained quiet, not budging an inch from his spot. Yuffie stared harder and the older brunet just shrugged his shoulders and continued to keep his mouth shut. She had a demanding expression, wanting to know what was going on, however, she knew, after working with him for so long, that she might not be able to get them but that didn't mean she couldn't pester him in the morning. After all, she was the one who got his morning coffee…

Cloud continued the conversion without really understanding everything, he was just…glad to see the brunet again… "So were you waiting for her?" Cloud asked calmly, his face in a thin line.

"No, not really. I was about to leave myself. I was just waiting until the traffic died down. It's easier this way."

"That's our idea as well. No need to fight the traffic in getting out. We'll be getting home about the same time both ways so it doesn't really matter much."

"That's why I'm here. But I guess it should have gone down by now so I'll be heading to my car now. No need to stay here by myself." Leon stood up, hearing some of his bones cracking at the sudden movement and started down the road to the car parking lot. Cloud and Yuffie followed right behind, talking to each other, well, Yuffie was while the other just remained quiet and listened, though he was secretly casting an glance every once in awhile to the CEO. The blond was quite similar in personality wise to Leon except for the fact that Cloud was more willing to make paragraphs while he made one or two sentences, hardly longer.

"You know what?" Yuffie started, who had her hands behind her back, and gave Leon a glance. "My boss is so mean! He's so grumpy all the time. He never lets me do anything!"

Leon twitched, she was talking about _him_ and he didn't like that. Was she trying to badmouth him when he couldn't speak? He eyed her, yes, that was her little game. He couldn't do anything unless he wanted to ruin his position. Cloud gazed over to the girl. "Is that so? You really shouldn't be saying those types of things behind people's back. Its not very nice and it could get you into a lot of trouble."

"Oh, come on! He's always grouchy and never smiles much. He hardly ever goes out of his office. I usually only see him go in the morning and out at closing. He doesn't even have a lover and he's 24!"

"Sounds like a workaholic, no wonder he's so grumpy. He's so busy." Cloud shot her a look. "Maybe you should start helping him lighten his work. He probably has to take care of yours _and_ his own all at once."

Leon snorted at that. How true. Yuffie was always last to turn in her work and though she finished it completely, sometimes it was filled with so much mistakes that he had to redo it himself.

Yuffie pouted and turned away, having been nailed on the head. Cloud smiled lightly at his victory and turned to Leon, quickening his pace to catch up.

"So what about you? If you're not working or waiting for Yuffie then why were you outside?"

"I had nothing to do."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "That's it? It's just because you were bored. What type of life do _you_ live?"

"A boring one. I'm not as proud of it as I normally would be and there are a few things I would like to change. But I like how they are."

"And that would be?"

"That's none of your business. I'd like to keep my secrets." Leon sighed at the man but was interrupted when Yuffie jumped him and gladly attached herself to his shoulders. He made a loud grunt in surprise and stumbled a bit before catching himself. His dark gray eyes darkened into a mid black and glared at the girl through the window reflections of the cars they went by. "_Get off, Yuffie_…"

"I want to know too. Tell us!"

"No…"

"Why not?"

"Because that's private. You don't tell me who you're going out with or what you do so why should I start now?"

"Fine, have it your way." Yuffie hopped off and grumbled sadly.

Leon sighed heavily and opened his car door, hoping inside and turned it on after putting the key into the ingestion. The lights went on soon after and he was about to place the car into reverse when a knock on his window snapped his attention away from the front. His eyes caught the blond hair and pressed the button to lower the window.

"Yes?"

"So why were you really there?" Cloud asked, leaning over low enough to get his head in.

Leon sighed again and glanced into the mirror to find Yuffie in her own car, safe from hearing. "Can't tell you exactly but I'll give you the option of finding out. I hang around the building all day so you should find me. Don't bother asking anyone, though, not very many people have seen me even those that have been there for over twenty years." Leon motioned Cloud back and rolled up his window halfway. His stormy gray eyes had some amusement in them. "Good luck in finding out." Then the window closed and he backed out, leaving the blond behind in question. Leon couldn't decide whether or not this was a good idea, since he had just sold himself to the media.

However, he had a feeling that everything was going to change soon. And he wasn't sure if it was going to be good or bad.

* * *

"_You always had to be some mysterious person. I think you were laughing behind my back during those times."_

"_Why do you say that?"_

"_I don't know. I just had a feeling."_

"_Well, that feeling is uncalled for. I did no sort of thing. I was kinda hoping that you would figure it out."_

"…_Why?"_

"_Don't know. I just wanted you to."_

* * *

A few days passed since that day and Leon had done nothing but work without so much as a break. A new contract had come in and he was working furiously to get it done and out of his way but, whenever he thought he was almost there, another part would show up. It was endless and he was getting tired and fast. Yuffie had to go out and get him food and water since he hardly had anytime to do anything else. It was even harder to ignore the worried look on her face whenever she came in. Vincent would pop in every once in a while to make sure he wasn't dead or starting to decay in his seat. No one else appeared other then his assistants, who were probably blocking the entrance, or scaring people away in Vincent's case. He hardly had anytime to rest even when he went home, his mind was still on the project.

"Here you go, Squally." Yuffie placed a sandwich on her boss' table with a soda next to it. Leon paused to look up. "Your lunch. Now you better eat it, got that! I won't stand it if you don't."

"Alright." Leon listened and dropped his pencil to the table, letting it clatter. His hand was beginning to ache anyway from the over usage. His fingers wrapped around the sandwich and pulled back the wrapping and began to eat. Yuffie sighed in relief; she wouldn't know what to do if he hadn't stopped. She really didn't want to resort to force feeding the man and she knew he was strong.

"You need to take a serious break, maybe you should head on home for some rest."

Leon shook his head. "Only after getting this turned in then I will. It won't do this company any good if I stop now." He glanced over his work. The pages were starting to wane down, meaning that he was getting there which was good sign in his case. A break right now wouldn't be that bad, right? "So…has anyone visited me yet?"

"Yep, five people, four of them are just reporters and journalists."

"And the last one?" Leon noticed the remaining number and took a sip of his drink, which was coke by the way.

"A worker within our area but he was just wandering and stumbled upon us. He wasn't suspicious or anything. He said he was sorry and went away."

"I see, well then I have nothing to worry about for a while. I would be pissed if you had denied any businessmen from entering."

"I thought you would say that." Yuffie grinned, tilting to the side, both hands on her waist.

* * *

"_What did you do to reporters to get them off your back?"_

"_Why do you want to know?"_

"_I don't know, I think it might be handy to know one day."_

"_Well I never did anything. Vincent always took care of it."_

"…_Vincent?"_

"_Yeah, is that a problem?"_

"_Well, what happened to those people afterwards?"_

"…"

"_What?"_

"_I don't know…I never found out what happened to them."_

"…"

* * *

"Hey, Leon." A voice called out from behind, catching the brunet's attention. He was sitting outside, waiting for everyone to leave again like everyday. Nothing had changed much, the same amount of people going, but as he turned to face Cloud, who was running towards him, waving a hand, he couldn't help but smile in return. "Out here again?"

"Yeah, I just don't want to bother with traffic." Leon sighed, turning back. He unfolded his legs and leaned backward. His hands were dipped into the fountain water, placing ripples into the stillness. It had stopped long ago. "So do you need anything?"

"Something like that. Okay, quick question. Do you have a brother?" Cloud asked, settling down next to the man. He made sure that none of his clothes would get wet and relaxed peacefully. Leon glanced back over curiously.

"Why…" Leon started. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just answer the question."

"Yes, I have a younger, well, two of them. Their names are Sora and Roxas. They're still in college and I'm hoping they'll follow me in my work." Leon glanced into the crowded streets where cars were honking at each other.

"No one else?" Cloud eyed the brunet as if waiting for something more, something else. Leon remained quiet, waiting for the other to continue and he did after a while. "Then why is your last name the same as the CEO of this company?"

Leon snapped his head up, staring wide-eyed at the blond. He knew that this was going to happen someday but not _this_ soon. He always thought a reporter would sniff him out like how they did to Sora and Roxas, and he _did_ make it kinda obvious since he was using his last name. It wouldn't be too hard to figure out. 'Maybe that could be a reason…' But that didn't mean he was going to make it easy to get it out of him.

"You should have never told me your last name. It was a dead give away." Cloud smirked, looking proud of himself. "It made things much easier to search you out. Once I mentioned the name, everyone pointed towards the CEO. I asked if anyone else had ever seen you and even sent somebody upstairs to catch a glimpse, but that assistant, Vincent, wouldn't allow it. The guy came back saying that he had almost gotten murdered." Leon looked away at that. The guy must have been the one that had visited and for an odd reason, he felt like pitying the poor person. He must have come in at the wrong time when Vincent was bloodthirsty or angry. Cloud noticed the movement but didn't say anything on it and just continued. "But what confused me the most was that only a couple of people have ever seen you, and not a single one knew your name at all. It was quite surprising."

"That's good to know but that still doesn't mean I'll tell you a thing." Leon stood up, letting a small smile appear on his lips. His bones creaked slightly at the abrupt movement, but he felt better now that he could move around. "I can't say much about the topic here since anyone could be listening in on us so let me invite you out to dinner. My treat."

Cloud blinked before responding. "Sure, why not. That sounds good."

* * *

"_What do you usually eat at home, Leon?"_

"_I cook my own food, I don't really like going out unless necessary. And I eat anything as long Sora or Roxas' lover hadn't cooked it."_

"_Do you know how handy you are?"_

"…_I know."_

* * *

"You and Cloud seem to be getting together more often now-a-days. I hardly see one without the other." Yuffie smiled, sitting on her bosses' desk. There was even a little spot that was entirely cleaned just for her since she would always push anything that was there, not caring about how important they were, aside and Leon refused to have a bigger mess on his desk than already is. Leon, having finished his present job, raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You know…" Yuffie smiled wider, glancing to the side where Vincent was standing.

Leon narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Meeting outside of work, hanging out with each other, dinner. I understand if its just colleges, however, Cloud doesn't know that you're the CEO, instead you're just a regular person so why is he hanging out with you?"

"He thinks I'm the CEO's younger brother." Leon retorted, sighing. "How he figured that out is a mystery to me but I have to admit that man's sharp in catching things." He stood up, walking around the room before strolling over to the large windows. He looked out and could see multiple people in the streets, flooding the concrete like running water. It just kept on moving and it made it impossible to see the pavement underneath. "Well, it doesn't matter to me. He doesn't seem the type to rat me out to the press. I would have been attacked by now if he had."

"That's Cloud for you, he won't say anything unless he's got permission for it or if that person is doing something that everyone needs to be aware of. I'm more amazed that he's actually talking to you though, he always remains so quiet around me. It's not fair."

Leon raised the other eyebrow at her. That was a little odd. Why would Cloud be a little more talkative around him? That made no sense. But Leon did begin to notice that he himself was beginning to change, slowly but surely. He shook his head and stood up, heading towards the door. He glanced back to his assistant. "I'm taking a walk."

* * *

"_You know, back then you had such a strange effect on me."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I'm not really sure I can describe it. It's kinda hard to say."_

"_Oh really? But still it's nice to know that I could affect you like that."_

"_You're smiling…"_

* * *

Cloud groaned, pounding away on the keyboard, trying to finish off his work. He didn't mind the extra papers he got or where he was at in the building since this place was so nice and comforting. The people here were treated kindly except for a few certain groups that had problems with basically everyone else. Cloud tried to remain out of the way most of the time however, some people could really _push_ him to his limits.

"So Cloud." Zack appeared in front of his desk, grinning as always. The blond didn't look up at his superior but Zack was used to this kind of treatment and didn't mind. "Have you found this mysterious Leon guy?"

Cloud paused. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't lie. I know all about it. You've been investigating about some guy in the building, right? Do you like him?" Zack plopped down on Cloud's desk, folding his arms. "Come on, tell me the details."

"I'm just interested, I don't like him that much."

"Uh, huh. That's what they all say." Zack chuckled, looking quite mischievous.

The blond narrowed his eyes. "Who's this 'they'?"

"Just people. I hear all, know all."

"Right…" His blue eyes glanced around the room, wandering what the others were doing but it was all the same, answering calls and typing into the computers. The clicking noise was getting on his nerves and quickly. It wasn't pleasant to hear all day long. His vision went towards the doorway, half-expecting someone to show up and distract his boss from him but no one did. No one went by and it was back to boredom.

"So who does this guy look like?" Zack asked curiously, leaning over.

Cloud snapped. "Don't you have work to do other than pester me?"

The black-haired man looked insulted. "How mean! And here I was caring about you. I wouldn't want my best worker to get stolen away." Zack pouted and continued to settle down on the desk.

"Not telling, you don't need to know."

Zack pouted further and stalked off but it was obvious that he was going to try again. "Man…" He muttered, loud enough for Cloud to hear. "He acts just like Squall."

Cloud lifted his head up for a moment, blinking his eyes. 'That's right, Leon's older brother, the CEO's name is Squall…' He sighed, his mind couldn't and wouldn't process any more than that. He wanted to see the brunet again. 'Maybe I'll be able to meet Leon through the CEO…though getting to him is harder than I would think. No one has ever seen him before except for his assistants…Yuffie…she probably knows something.'

He leaned back on his chair and glanced towards the door once more and felt his eyes widening upon the sight.

"Leon!" Cloud jumped from his seat, startling half of the people in the room. He glanced around curiously, glaring at anyone that looked at him before rushing out. He ignored the eyes and went into the hallway, rushing after the retreating man. Cloud glanced down the direction and spotted the brunet disappearing behind a corner. "Leon!" The blond continued to rush forward and passed the corner, looking down to see the man there waiting, his gray eyes staring.

"Cloud? What is it?" Leon, who had been on a walk, blinked his eyes in confusion.

"Nothing really." Cloud cursed himself for not thinking of a better excuse and tried to make himself look organized like he _hadn't_ been running around for the other. "So why are you here?"

"…What else."

"You really don't like to answer my questions, do you?" Cloud sighed, but he was already used to this. The man was quiet just as much like himself though he was more willing to speak and try to get a conversation going. Still, he was having trouble in that department himself.

"You just ask the wrong ones I really don't want to answer." Leon returned, glancing to the side. "If you ask the ones I can, I'll will."

"I see. And what kind is that?"

"Not sure."

"Fine…where do you live?"

"Somewhere in this country."

"…" Cloud grumbled and almost sneered in anger. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-six."

"Birthday?"

"October 16th."

"Year?"

"Do the math." Leon griped, narrowing his eyes.

Cloud smiled, he was actually getting something. "Pets?"

"Two Dalmatians and a cat."

"Never saw you as an animal person."

"Well I am. I take care of the two dogs while Roxas takes charge of the cat. Sora…lets just say he's bad with them and go with that." Leon made a wince on his face and sighed. "He's a little _too_ playful sometimes."

Cloud could only stare.

* * *

"_You know, getting anything out of you is such a hassle."_

"_Then why bother?"_

"_Cuz then you wouldn't say anything."_

"_I see."_

* * *

"So where are we going?" The spiky blond-haired man asked, looking out of the window in fear. He didn't recognize the place at all and was starting to panic. It was different than most of the places he had ever wandered into and he didn't like that. There were plenty of houses though with large gaps of spaces that was covered in grass and trees between them.

"During the conversation a few days ago, you mentioned that you wanted to meet my family. Well, I'm letting you do so, however, I need you to remain in the living room so I can get the two. Sometimes they're doing things you don't want to know or stumble into."

"And that would be?"

"Let's see, how to say this. Both of my brothers are eighteen right now and they both have boyfriends, so, well…you should know…" Leon trailed off tiredly, trying to get the message across without having to say it outright. Cloud's eyes widened instantly and looked away with a blush creeping on his cheeks. Leon grunted. "Maybe it'll be better if I didn't tell them that you're here. Might save us some face."

"Yeah, maybe you shouldn't." Cloud agreed. He looked up as they arrived at the house. It was big, a two story that was widely spread out, but nothing great compared to the surrounding ones and definitely a lot better than his tiny apartment. Though he had to question why Leon, brother to a CEO, would live in such a place like this then the better ones were right next door. "Nice place."

"Thanks." Leon stopped the car and stepped out, jiggling the keys in his fingers. "I had to get my brothers to stay here with me. It sometimes gets a little lonely here."

"You lonely? I wouldn't think so."

"When you live in that house by yourself, it's not as easy."

"But you have neighbors, don't you? Why not talk to them?"

Leon shook his head. "No, none of them want to associate themselves with me. They say my house is low-class but you know, I like smaller places than those big ones, it's just becomes empty from all that space. This house has more of a homier feeling than any of the others."

Cloud thought to himself for a second, finding reason in those words. They were heading up to the front of the yard and down the sidewalk. "Don't you have a wife or lover to go home to? I mean a guy like you could easily snag any person you like."

Leon snorted in amusement and stopped at the door where he could hear barking from behind. "I could say the same to you. You don't either." Leon unlocked the door and opened it. He sighed half-heartedly as he was met with two black and white dogs. Cloud watched in amusement as the man was attacked, licked and tickled, but then regretted that thought when they turned onto him. He got jumped instantly, shoved to the floor at the force and found himself pinned, wet tongues sliding over his face. He laughed at the feeling and squirmed at the touch, trying to push the animals off. Leon scratched the back of his head and stood up before giving a sharp whistle. The dogs stopped instantly and jumped away, running into another room. He stepped closer and offered a hand to the fallen other and lifted him up. "Ah, sorry about that."

"No, no, it's alright."

The brunet nodded and glanced inside his house before looking at the shoe and coat rack. It was empty. "Well, my brothers aren't here at the moment. They're either out or upstairs…"

"_Riku_!" A voice cried out and the two men turned to the stairs.

A pregnant pause between them.

Leon nervously sighed and coughed to break the silence. "Never mind, they're here. Would you like something to drink? It'll be quiet in the kitchen, one of the few places where you can't hear them."

"R-Right…"

Cloud followed the other into the large kitchen that was sparkling enough to blind anyone with all the clean dishes and pans in order. He blinked at the big space and was beginning to feel jealous at how rich Leon was. Leon pulled out a glass cup from the cabinets and handed it over to the blond-haired man. "Get whatever you want. And sorry about that, it's quite common here since hardly anyone comes over." He groaned and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs while Cloud went to the refrigerator, deciding to get some ice cold water. "Just to let you know, that was the older of the twins, Sora. You can probably tell who the other person is since his name was basically screamed out…"

Cloud nodded his head, not trusting his voice to speak at the moment.

The brunet grabbed another cup and filled it up with water but he didn't put ice in it like Cloud had done and took a long drink. The cool liquid ran down his patched throat and he had a feeling that he was going to have to use his voice soon. He raised his head up when the front door was opened with laughter following it. Leon knew who it was instantly and stood up from the chair he had gotten comfortable with and turned to Cloud.

"It's my younger brother, Roxas, and by the sounds of it, with his boyfriend, Axel. They get quite loud so sometimes it's better if you just ignore them and let them pass. Though I should warn you, Axel is a complete idiot and with that hair style of his, you'll be able spot him a mile away. Trust me on this." Cloud gave him a suspicious look while Leon remained where he was at. "You'll see." The laughter didn't stop instead it was getting closer to the kitchen and there Cloud saw it, the bright red hair. His eyes blinked at the color. Leon hadn't been kidding, with hair like that, Axel was an easy target anywhere. It was really that bright!

Roxas, the shorter one with blond hair, first noticed his brother. "Oh, Leon, you're home early." He pointed a thumb in Axel's direction. "I've brought the idiot home with me today."

"Yes, I can see and hear that." Leon commented, nodding to the red head's direction, who smirked.

"Man…" Axel chuckled. "This place never gets old. You guys really are too rich, you should share the wealth with us poor folk." He grinned, revealing the upside-down green triangles under each eye that seemed to rise up. He wrapped an arm around Roxas, tugging him closer. This movement made it obvious between their height differences but they still made a good couple when it came to their personalities.

"Leon, are you alone again? No one to be with you tonight?" Axel teased happily, he just loved getting on the man's nerves but he never wanted to try and get him furious. Leon had a mean temper and he was just plain scary when it came down to it. "Well, it's not like you've ever brought anyone home in the first place."

"Not this time, Ax." Roxas interrupted, slamming his elbow into Axel's side before pointing to the other blond in the room. "Looks like big brother snagged someone."

"No, I didn't. He's from work and you said the same thing when Vincent came and again when it was Yuffie." Leon folded his arm, slamming his cup of water onto the table.

Roxas twitched at one of the names. "If Vincent had really come here to stay, I'd be leaving. Nice man or not, he's a little _too_ creepy. The temperature always seems to drop whenever he's nearby."

Axel stepped in next. "Yuffie, on the other hand, is no better. I would leave the second she stepped in. The girl would drive me insane with her blabbering, Roxas here or not."

The brunet growled, glaring coldly enough to freeze the couple up. "Thanks for talking so badly about my friends."

"Sorry!" The two yelped together.

Cloud chuckled softly in the back, ignored by the bickering family members. His eyes softened at the sight and watched as the trio continued to fight and argue but he could tell that there was no tension between them at all. He remained seated and began laughing when Leon slapped Roxas up the head. Axel raised an eyebrow and turned to Cloud, shrugging his shoulders.

"Ahhh…they're doing it again." The red head plopped into one of the chairs and sighed. Leaning over, he raised his head up and placed his chin on the table.

The blond glanced over. "Do they do this often?"

"Sometimes but Leon is just worried about his younger brother. It's so obvious that he cares deeply for him." Axel mumbled, staring at the brothers as they bickered.

"I can tell, Leon is perhaps…too kind. He loves his family." Cloud tilted his head and sighed blissfully. His blue eyes didn't leave Leon's figure and the way his mouth moved, made Cloud blush slightly.

Axel noticed the stare and traced it to the brunet, who was still quarreling. He grinned mischievously. "So you like Leon, huh?"

Cloud jumped, snapping out of his daze. "W-What?" He got the full meaning soon after and his face flushed lightly. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, don't tell me you don't know. The way you look at him, it's so obvious from this far that you have a crush on the man. But who wouldn't really? Leon is one hot piece of ass. Really! Most people just die if he even bothers talking to them." Axel chuckled. "But I have Roxas and I wouldn't switch him out for anyone so you have no worries about me stealing him away."

Cloud could only stare in frustration.

* * *

"_You didn't inherit your families' spiky hair. That's odd."_

"_No, its not. And I kinda did but mine are flat like my dad's."_

"_Oh…what does your father look like?"_

"_So, what do you want for dinner?"_

"…"

* * *

"Was my family okay or just plain weird?" Leon asked the next day as they sat down to eat lunch on their break. He was just munching on a sandwich he had made earlier this morning while Cloud had packed his own in container and it looked like some kind or wrap.

"I'll be lying if I said they were perfect but they were fine. They're nice people." Cloud nodded though he did freak out inside when the middle brother appeared with the person named Riku behind. Cloud couldn't help but cough in their presence after remembering the entire ordeal that had happened outside of the room. It was embarrassing to both groups, however, Sora showed no sign of it.

"You can tell me the real truth, you know." Leon smirked, sipping quietly on his drink. His storm-colored eyes kept trained on the other, watching every movement and chuckled darkly when he saw cloud's face tense. "You're an idiot, you know that. You don't need to lie to me about my crazy family. I already know that."

"I…see…but I still think it'd be rude of me to do so."

Leon didn't respond to that and continued to eat. People walked in and out of the break room, some staying to eat while others had already finished. Many stared at them before a glare from each forced the nosy onlookers away. The workers chatted among each other, the noise level rising high above the two's silent standards. It wouldn't be hard for them to make a conversation with their silent staring and everyone thought so too when they glanced at them. People continued to move around, smiles on all their faces but in the center, Leon and Cloud remained ignored.

The door opened many times, more footsteps, more voices. Cid came in once to get his assistants and nodded in Leon's direction then went away. Cloud didn't notice it as he was too preoccupied with his falling apart food that was crashing on him. Apparently, it hadn't been well put together. Leon raised an eyebrow at the scene, watching a piece of lettuce fall out from the back of the wrap. He observed the hopeless man before deciding to help out and reached over.

"Here, let me." The brunet took what was left and grabbed a nearby napkin for extra hold. He handed it back with no emotion and chuckled at Cloud's expression. The blond grabbed it and stared at his food before biting into it. His problem had been solved and in the easiest way possible. So easy, why hadn't he done that?

"Thanks." Cloud quickly tried to finish up since Leon was only a few bites away.

"Huh? Cloud?" A voice familiar to the blond spoke. Leon narrowed his eyes at it, he knew it as well. He watched as Cloud's body straightened up and stared at the approaching man. "I never though I'd see you in here. You're always hated coming in here." Zack grinned, not noticing the brunet whose back remained facing him. Leon panicked mentally, his eyes darkening in color. He was going to get sold out. There was no way around it. Zack didn't know anything about him hiding his real name and Leon knew that the man was going to blab without knowing it. He scolded himself for not doing telling him before. "But man, was I surprised when I didn't see you at you desk today. I thought for a moment you had disappeared or something."

"Ah, ." Cloud muttered, not entirely happy that their little moment had been interrupted.

Zack halted. "It's Zack. Call me by my first name. There's no need to be formal with me. But who's your friend?" He edged around and froze.

Cloud noticed the movement and blinked. "What's wrong Zack?"

Leon gave a meaningful glare at the black-haired man that said 'say-anything-and-I'll-fucking-kill-you', immediately silencing him instantly. He didn't want Cloud to find out now of all times, it was too early on his side. Zack noticed the stare and shivered at the coldness but luckily he wasn't that stupid. He gulped and knew what he had to do. He'd rather not get fired from doing something dim-witted, even though he wasn't sure about what was going on.

Zack gave a face, one that was in confusion and shock before beginning to speak. "Hey, aren't you that guy that came to visit me long ago, the one that gave me those papers? What are you doing here?"

Cloud blinked again, this was _very_ suspicious. Zack's tone was off, meaning one thing in Cloud's mind. He was lying.

Leon sighed. "I can visit whenever I feel like it, I'm allowed to either way." He sipped quietly on his coffee, hoping that Cloud hadn't caught anything, though that was hard to tell since Cloud was staring at him strongly. Zack tried to make things better by dragging Cloud away, saying that he had work to finish up. Cloud struggled, not wanting to leave, and argued back. Leon watched with interest until the doors closed and shifted in his seat. He glanced down at his food and quickly wrapped his leftovers before tossing it into the trashcan. The brunet grabbed a cup of coffee that was still warm and exited the room, heading the opposite direction from Cloud and Zack.

This was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

"_Do you like being Zack's assistant?"_

"_Somewhat. It gets…annoying. The man is so lazy but he's not so bad."_

"…_Would you work under me?"_

"_As much as I would love to, someone needs to keep watch of that man. If I'm not there, he'll fall apart. But thanks for the lovely offer."_

"_That's good. I'd really hate to explain to Yuffie and Zack that I was going to steal you away from them."_

"_Now that I wouldn't mind at all. Do that anytime." _

* * *

A sharp ringing reached Leon's ears as he drove towards his house. He glanced at it and reached over blindly while keeping his eyes on the road. When his hands touched the metal framing of it, he yanked it over and glanced at the number when he got the chance. It was unfamiliar to him but he still flipped it open and placed the thing on speakerphone, dropping it onto his lap.

"Hello?" He spoke loudly, hearing no response.

"Leon?"

The brunet blinked in question for a second. He didn't recognize the voice but he was sure he had heard it sometime shortly but couldn't put his finger on it. "Yes, this is him. May I ask whose calling?"

"…Yes, you may."

Leon remained quiet.

"I'm kidding. And this is Cloud Strife."

Leon didn't say anything for a few more moments before saying. "How did you get this number?"

"Zack and Yuffie gave it to me together. They wanted me to call you, almost as if they were planning something."

"A plan I don't want to be a part of." He turned the steering wheel to the right to get off the highway. He passed some cars, trying to get to the turning lane. It was hard enough as it is with all the ones in the back catching up.

"I know, those two are mischievous when things come down to it." Cloud sighed, sounding tired on the phone. There were some noises in the background, someone screaming. A sigh came again and Cloud groaned. "Well I better get going. Yuffie just tripped over one of my rugs and broke a lamp."

A small smile fell onto Leon's lips. "Alright, just make sure she pays for it. Don't let her get away."

"Oh, I won't."

The other line cut off and Leon was left with silence. He flipped the phone closed and continued driving.

* * *

"_You know, I almost died on that day when you first called me."_

"_Really? How?!"_

"_I was driving at that time so I wasn't really paying any attention to my surroundings."_

"_Oh, I'm sorry about that."_

"_No, it's alright, it's my fault completely. I should have been smart enough to pull over but I didn't."_

"_But-"_

"_Cloud…"_

"_Alright, alright, I don't blame myself."_

"_Good, now let's go out for dinner before my brothers decided to tag along."_

* * *

Cloud wandered around the building for the first time in mouths. He had decided, while not being hungry, that a good walk would be relaxing. Last night, Yuffie and Zack had ganged up on him, given him Leon's phone number and demanded that he call on the threat of getting twenty extra stacks of paperwork. He had done the deed immediately after leaving in fear and dread. Paperwork was just plain evil!

He sighed, why did Yuffie have to be so pestering?

Cloud went up the stairs and exited onto the top floor. He wandered around a little more but stopped when he hear a familiar voice.

"Come on, tell me. Do you like him?"

Cloud slipped behind a wall and peered out. He knew that annoying voice from anywhere and it could only belong to Yuffie. His eyes looked over the girl and then to the person she was talking to. 'Leon?' Indeed the man was standing there, arms folded, looking furious at how this was going. He didn't want to answer that question.

"Oh come one, it's a simple 'yes' or 'no', do you or do you not like Cloud?"

The blonde's eyes widened, they were talking about him. He remained quiet and listened on. But at the same time, he was interested. He wanted to know what Leon thought of him and _really_ badly. His heart pounded quickly at the idea.

Leon grunted, glancing away and muttered something softly.

Yuffie leaned forward as did Cloud, neither of them had heard the whispered comment. "What was that?"

"Yes…" He sighed, surrendering and speaking louder to be heard. "Yes, I do…like him."

The girl grinned in victory. "Do you like him in that way? You know…" She had an evil glint in her eyes and nudged Leon at the waist, trying to edge him forward. "Well, do you?"

"Now you're pushing it."

She flinched slightly at the angry tone but continued, trying not to be afraid.

Cloud edged over, what did she mean by those words? Yuffie couldn't have meant _that_, could she? The blond glanced over to Yuffie, his bright blue eyes studying and finally the realization hit him, hard. She had meant it in that _way_, the relationship between lovers and couples. In all honesty, he would gladly come to Leon's rescue, however, he wanted to know, no, he _needed_ to know. Was there really any chance between them? Not that he had a crush, oh no, he'll deny that of ever happening but it'd be nice to know. Cloud smacked his head for those thoughts.

"I don't know." Leon sighed, backing up to the table behind him, which was Yuffie's, and leaned against it. He looked frustrated, with his eyebrows knotted together and stared down at the floor as if thinking it would answer all of his life's questions. "Maybe a little."

"A little? That's it?!" Yuffie huffed, slightly angry at her friend. "Come on, you're lying. You're totally in for him. You want him so badly that it's hurting you."

"Now where did you get that?!" Leon raised an eyebrow. There was a short moment where he had a look of longing but quickly erased it, however, Yuffie spotted it.

"Ah ha! Your face just said it. You want him!" She shrieked in happiness at finally figuring out something about this man (he was far too quiet for his own good). She was so happy, now, if only she could get underneath Vincent's skin. Suddenly, she paused, an evil grin on her lips. The dark-clocked man, who was nestled in his desk quietly, looked up from his work from the proclamation and sighed in pity for his boss. Yuffie was already planning something. However, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a small hitch of breath. He stood up instantly, startling the two near him, and they watched as the man wandered around the corner. Leon raised an eyebrow at the action but dismissed it, though, that changed when he saw something blond in the corner of his eye. He growled. "Who's there?!"

Cloud flinched and turned to face Leon, slowly edging out from behind the wall. He looked nervous at the sudden attention and went closer looking guilty.

"Cloud? Were you listening?" Yuffie asked in shock but also had a smile on her lips. The two were together and at the most perfect timing. "How much did you hear?"

"Most of it." Cloud stepped closer, heading directly towards Leon without any hesitation. He stopped in front and reached forward, grabbing the stern shoulders. The brunet's face had paled considerably and he was edging away towards his office door. "Leon?"

The CEO turned away, not wanting to look at the other man.

Cloud sighed. "Look I can't ignore everything that was said and neither can you. It doesn't really matter…"

"Yes, it does." Leon shook his head. "Doesn't it make you feel uncomfortable?"

The blond didn't answer.

"See, you…" His voice trailed off as he watched the pink lips get closer to his own. Leon froze, not sure on what to do while Yuffie squealed like mad. She literally leaned forward and shoved Leon the rest of the way, pressing their lips together for a smiled softly and went closer, nudging their bodies together, making sure that the brunet couldn't escape from his grip. The CEO loosened up and started to return the gesture, closing his eyes to the touch. Yuffie squealed some more in glee, jumping up and down at the sight. Vincent came in soon after with a little bit of blood on his hands but that went ignored by the new-found couple. He stared at them then shook his head, turning away with a smile. He was happy for them and seeing his boss like that, all happy and not so dark and gloomy like him, really made his chest tighten.

Cloud pulled back a moment later, his face slightly red at the blush that threatened to consume his entire color. He tilted his head down to stare at the ground with his blond bangs hanging over his face. Leon sighed and glanced around the room, suddenly finding it too crowded, mostly because of Yuffie. "Hey…"

The blond glanced up in question.

"Let's go out for lunch. Take the rest of the day off with me." Leon commanded though it was softly spoken so that no one else could hear. It was more of a request than anything else.

Cloud smiled. "I'd love to."

The brunet nodded and led the other towards the elevator, allowing the doors to close them off from the rest of the world for just a moment. Only Yuffie screeched as she watched them tie their hands together, her eyes having stars twinkling inside of them. Vincent sighed and dragged the girl away for work. She was distracted enough as it is.

Plus, he needed some help in hiding that reporter he had just killed.

* * *

"_I'm sleepy. Let's go to bed."_

"_Sure, I don't mind. I can finish my work in the morning."_

"_Are you sure? I'm not keeping you behind, am I?"_

"_No, of course not. Plus, bed right now sounds so nice to me."_

"…_Can you…hold me?"_

"_Sure, I don't mind."_

"_Thanks."_

* * *

"Are there any other secrets you want to share with me?" Cloud decided to ask during a car ride. He didn't care where he was going as long as it was with Leon.

The stoic man paused. "…Maybe…"

"…Tell me." Cloud narrowed his eyes, watching the driver squirm in his seat as they drove through traffic. Leon seemed to be conflicting with something inside and when he glanced over to Cloud's face, he finally decided to speak.

"I'm the CEO of Xclaim, Squall Leonheart."

Cloud didn't believe him. "Very funny, now tell me the truth."

Silence.

"...You're not kidding, are you?"

"No, I'm him."

"I…see…is there…anything else I need to know about?" The blond had sweat dripping down the back of his neck. He was so nervous that he had a hard time seeing straight.

"Vincent's really a vampire."

"Really?!"

"No…"

"…You suck!"

Cloud pouted and fell back into his seat after jumping at the vampire comment.

Leon could only laugh in response before swerving to the side to miss hitting a car.

* * *

"_I love you, Leon."_

"_I love you too, now go to sleep."_

* * *

(1)- Its actually a cape but I changed it for this one. It'd looks kinda odd to people at work to have some guy coming in wearing a cape. It'd be interesting but weird.

This is my second attempt. I haven't tried doing a lemon yet but I think that might be coming soon.

Please review and tell me if this was good or bad.


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